Video conferencing enables individuals to speak with one another remotely. Some video conferencing systems also facilitate the sharing of data such as documents or images.
One example of a video conferencing system is Skype™. Skype™ permits users to add contacts and manage contacts in an address book. Skype™ enables users to initiate a text chat, voice or video conference with one or more of their contacts by clicking on a set of simple buttons. While in a video conference, users' screens can be shared with one another.
Video conferencing systems are sometimes used as a replacement for meetings when it is inconvenient to arrange a place and time where all participants for a meeting can meet.
However, meetings held using a video conferencing system lose the behavioural cues of physical meetings and consequently meetings held using video conferencing systems can be less efficient and less effective than face-to-face meetings.
There is a desire for an improved meeting management system for video conferencing which augments traditional video conferencing to facilitate more efficient and more effective meetings.
There exist some systems which aim to address this desire, one of these is GoToMeeting™. This system enables users to start an online meeting space and invite participants. It provides the ability to schedule meetings beforehand, which conventional video conferencing systems, such as Skype™ do not. It also enables users to grant keyboard and mouse functionality over their computer system to others in the conference.
Another such system is WebEx™ by Cisco™. WebEx™ provides a mechanism to enable users to construct a webinar. A webinar is an online space where a participant (the “presenter”) can speak and many participants can observe. Once a user is signed up, webinars can be scheduled much as meetings are in GoToMeeting™. Text, audio and video conferencing is provided within WebEx™. Some users repurpose WebEx™ to conduct meetings.
None of these existing systems provide an adequate replacement for face-to-face meetings. Furthermore, none of these existing systems permit users to organise or structure complex meetings.
In addition, during face-to-face meetings there is often a requirement to record and allocate tasks.
There is a desire to provide this functionality efficiently and effectively for online meetings.
One system for task management is called Basecamp™. Basecamp™ permits users to create projects, tasks and milestones. A task is created within a project, the task can be assigned to a user and the task can relate to a milestone.
However, Basecamp™ is not integrated into a meeting management system. Therefore, the process of creating projects, tasks, and milestones is undertaken by a user after a meeting has taken place.
Therefore, there is a need for a task management system which is closely integrated into a meeting management system.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a meeting management system which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art, or at least provides a useful alternative.